(1.) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a key holder, and more particularly to a disc-type key holder, comprising a disc having on the peripheral surface thereof an annular groove and a plurality of key retaining rings capable of sliding and being detachably held in the groove by stud pins.
(2.) State of the Prior Art
In the prior art, as represented in FIG. 15, the key holder comprises a disc member 10 having on a circumferential surface an annular groove 101 and on a lateral surface thereof a radial guide slot 102, a stop pin 20 accommodated in a radial sliding hole 103 formed in the annular groove 101 and passing through the center of the circle and communicating with the guide slot 102, a spring 30 similarly received in the interior of the sliding hole 103 to constantly push the stop pin 20 toward the outside, an operating knob 40 having an inner end passing through the guide slot 102 to be screwed to the stop pin 20 and an outer end extending out of the guide slot 102 for restricting the range of movement of the stop pin 20 to thereby limit the stop pin 20 to radial sliding movement and a plurality of key holder rings 60 slidably and detachably retained in the annular groove 101 by means of stud pins 50 and in cooperation with the stop pin 20.
The conventional key holder has many advantages and has been popularly used. The keys retained therein are easy to organize, to add on or to remove, or to select for use, and the keys do not get hooked up with each other. However, because of the large number of parts, it is laborious and time-consuming to manufacture and assemble. Also, because of high costs, it has not been possible for large-scale production at low prices. These facts have been drawbacks for this type of key holder. For instance, in this type of key holder metals have been used, such as copper being turned for the circular disc 10 with a lathe. A milling machine mills off the annular groove 101 and the guide slot 102, and the sliding hole 103 is drilled with a drilling machine. The stop pin 20 is first turned with the lathe and then milled with a milling machine to mill of a notch 201 and also to drill out a hole 202 for accommodation therein off the spring 30. In turn, the operating knob 40 has to be turned to be threaded, and in addition to the above, all the parts have to be subjected to surface treatments like electroplating. All these factors have been the cause for high costs and inefficiency in production.